The Roundup for March 28th, 2014

Hey folks. Still taking suggestion from readers for the Roundup. So far it seems like the number of links I currently use should be reduced or kept. Let me know if you have any more suggestions in the comment section.

International Politics

Overall

– UN’s Ban Ki-Moon: Vladimir Putinpledged not to commit any more actions in Ukraine

– Two people were killed and five were injured in a suicide bombing in Kabul, Afghanistan

Asia and Oceania

– North Korea heard and read the report by the UN on crimes occurring in the country. Its response? “Mind your own business”

– In the search for the missing MH370 airline, Australian authorities were able to find “objects” in the Indian Ocean

Africa

– In Tunisia, the country has become a “kleptocracy” where capitalism has been used by the state for its own nefarious purposes

– In Egypt, detainees experience brutal abuse such as sexual abuse and routine beatings. Some are even teenagers (not sure why BBC thought “teenage children” was an appropriate term since it makes no sense)

– After General Sisi announced he will seek the presidency, hundreds in Egypt went into the streets to protest the decision

Europe

– Human rights organization denounced police violence in Greece and clamored for immigrant groups to be protected from the police

– Cyprus announced it has ended the limited cash withdrawals it put in place as economic confidence has risen, say officials

– Pew: Support for the death penalty has declined over the past few years. It is currently at 55 percent (supporting) versus 37 percent (opposing)

– There was a firestorm over a joke by Stephen Colbert that led to #CancelColbert on Twitter. Some support #CancelColbert as Colbert made a joke against the Asian community, but it was a satire of the Washington Redskins and their program to help the indigenous. Thus, others were against it or suggested hiring people of color

– In a detention center in Texas detainees commit to a hunger strike against unjust policies, but the staff has retaliated against them

– Gallup: Alabama has nearly one in four residents struggling to get medicine/healthcare (the worst in the nation), while Iowa has the least worst with more than one in 10

– With all of this talk on health care coverage, dental care coverage is still one of the worst processes for Americans and least talked about issues

– Despite autism rates increasing by 30 percent, the CDC states it is not “very common”

The Second Sex

– A new report found women in North Africa face the most discrimination and least support

– Kristen Schaal of The Daily Showmocks the “Princeton Mom” and her inane advice for women to marry young

Planet Earth

– One person analyzing the new UN report on climate change states how climate change is already here, but we can do a lot to stop it

– Another casualty of the drought in California has been the nut industry (including almonds, my daily food) as lack of water is hurting farmers

– The Obama administration announces it will study how to cut methane emissions from things like hydrofracking; Here’s a low-cost, quick method: ban it completely

– Transportation officials, meanwhile, criticized the oil industry for not providing necessary information for regulatory purposes; Another reason for the complete ban of literal primitive accumulation

– I absolutely love this investigative piece by Aasif Mandvi of The Daily Show on one town affected by Chevron’s hydrofracking and Chevron’s decision to give pizzas as compensation for the ill effects of fracking

Mixed Bag

– Jars and jars (we’re talking millions) of uncontaminated peanut butter were thrown into a landfill in New Mexico